Tag Archives: Scentsy

Here’s the deal: it had been a few days since I posted, and then my Angel Baby ended up in the ER the same weekend my MIL was admitted to the hospital. We had a pretty rough go of things for about 10 days while Bubbie fought through hand, foot, & mouth disease. Goodness sakes. I felt so bad for him. Every one of his little toes had blisters all around and between them and he had ulcers in his mouth and down his throat so it hurt to eat or drink. Needless to say, that week and a half destroyed all of the progress we had made with getting rid of bottles and binks, as well as the talk of potty training we’d been working on. Oh well… I’m not in any hurry for him to grow up anyhow. <3 So… we got all better and I got around to completing a project I’ve been dying to do for a LONG time… but I couldn’t blog about it because the project was a gift for my brother and I didn’t want him to see it before I gave it to him. Well, his birthday was last Tuesday and he’s had is gift since Easter Sunday. Again… whoops.

Sooo…. here I am. I am finally going to catch you up on what’s been happening around here (aside from nasty childhood diseases) and walk you through my handy dandy glass etching tutorial. Let’s do the tutorial first!

Super Duper Easy and Fun Glass Etching

Glass etching is my new favorite thing. Okay, I have a billion favorite things. This is just the newest one. Here’s what I started with:

— Glass to etch on (pictured above is a Pyrex bowl I did, but it’s not the piece I used for the rest of the tutorial. Sorry. I forgot to take a picture of that one before I started.)

— Vinyl

— A bottle of Armour Etch and a crappy paint brush

The first thing I did was use my Silhouette to cut a couple shapes out of vinyl. I think there’s stencil vinyl specifically for this. I had a roll of white on hand so that’s what I used. Weed the vinyl so you “trash” the shape (positive space) and keep the outline (negative space). I use contact paper to transfer my vinyl, but again, I there’s transfer paper specifically for this purpose. My brilliant friend Sarah uses Press & Seal Saran Wrap. I didn’t believe her until I saw it and tried it myself. She’s amazing. Anyway, this is that my “sticker” looked like before I put it on the mug:

And this is the part that I hate: throwing away the “good” part.

Not gonna lie–these guys moved from my wall onto my back patio door… where they’ve lived for three weeks now. :)

Anyway, once you get your shapes placed just right (I used the ruler here) press them down and make sure to get a good seal around the inside where you will apply the etching cream.

Once you’re happy with the placement, you’ll apply the Armour Etch. (NOTE: This is an acid etching cream, so you’ll want to be careful to avoid contact with your skin.) I put the cream on pretty thick and waited about 5 minutes, then rinsed it off. I wanted to make sure I got a good etch, so I dried the mug and reapplied the cream and waited another 5 minutes. I probably didn’t need to do that, but since it was my first attempt at etching, I was worried. :)

And there you have it. Done!

I was very happy with the way this turned out, and the birthday boy thought it was pretty neat, too. Don’t ask about the dinosaur vs. bear thing. I honestly don’t remember how that all started. I just remember something about my brother and my husband arguing about who would win in a fight, and Hubby suggested these shapes when I was trying to think of what to etch. I love it.

Now for the catching up…

I feel like I’ve been working working working… and yet I feel like I’ve done nothing. I think the problem is that I don’t have much to show for progress. I have been doing crazy amounts of yard work lately. We live in a north facing house with mature trees, so we have a great deal of shade to deal with. Add that to a greyhound/lab mix that runs faster than lightning and you get ruts in your grass and lots of patchy places… not to mention a desire for beautiful flowering plants and not enough sunshine to grow them. It took me two weeks of 20 minute trips outside with Bubbie to get all the flower beds weeded. It wasn’t until the last bed that I realized he is actually a great helper if he has his own shovel. Such a sweet boy. <3 Anyway, I settled on hostas for the front yard and got them planted this week. I picked up some seeds tonight for my one sunny bed and they’ll go in tomorrow.

I’ve also been doing a lot of planning. I’ve been working on Scentsy stuff and my Etsy shop, and I find a lot of joy in that. I can’t wait to post more projects. Remember my Sesame Street Blankie? Well, there will be more of those soon! And maybe even some new typography prints.

I keep starting this post, and then deleting this post, and then starting it again… I’m just going to say it: I’m really not in the mood to blog right now. LOL

I’m trying really hard to do this everyday (and obviously not succeeding, but doing better than before), but yet I don’t want you guys to be bored with my everyday life… it’s not always exciting and I’m too tired to do something really really fun everyday. But I’m working on it.

Anyway, we had a super fun weekend with family, and while I didn’t take time to create (whoopsie daisy!) I did take time to relax (and even nap!) and I spent some really great time with my Scentsy sisters. If you aren’t familiar with Scentsy, please take a minute to stop by my website and check it out. Scentsy has given me such a wonderful opportunity to stay at home with this super sweet little face and still earn some cash!

I really don’t have much to tell you today, but I’m thinking up my next big project and I hope to have something fun to share tomorrow. Until then… nighty night! :)

The end of December always brings mixed emotions for me. I’m always anticipating the new year, mourning the loss of another year, and reminiscing on what the finished one brought to me and my family. This year feels a little different, though. I’m not sure if that’s because I feel more accomplished (… maybe…) or if it has more to do with being a mom (… probably…). Everyone has always told me that time moves so much faster once you’ve had children. I had no idea. My son is 17 months old, but this time last year was still a blur, being that it was my first New Year’s as a mom, right after my first Christmas and Thanksgiving as a mom. And he was still tiny. So tiny. Still with that “new baby smell.” Ahh… almost makes me want to give him a sibling. But not quite yet.

I remember this time last year I had been contemplating my resolution(s) for some time. And I began thinking, “screw resolutions. I don’t need one.” And then 2011 was here and I thought, “we’ll call it a goal. That’s not so scary. Not that I NEED one, but it’s just what you do.” So I decided that 2011 would be the year that I would finish all of the unfinished projects I had sitting in my art room. Now, to some, that means a few finishing touches on a couple of craft projects. To me it meant so much more. It meant that I would have to re-introduce myself to a world I had been missing from for all too long. A world that I held so dearly and missed so much. It also meant I could fail. It meant I could fall flat on my face and find that the person I thought had been living at my core wasn’t who I thought she was. Wasn’t there at all. I know, I know, a little dramatic, right? Yeah. I’m a little dramatic. But I would rather we call me “passionate” than dramatic. Deal? :)

So… as I was saying… My “goal” for the year was to tie up loose ends. I think that I knew deep down inside that this would force me to do some serious soul searching. And it did. And I am SO THANKFUL.

About five months ago I had a series of revelations that turned my life inside out and backwards. And I like it so much better this way. SO. MUCH. BETTER. It’s crazy how we lose sight of the things that matter to us (or gain sight on something we think might possibly matter more), for whatever reason, and how beautiful and rewarding it feels to be able to admit to yourself, “I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not my favorite.” To be able to love yourself enough to walk away. To be able to love your family and friends enough to stop pretending to be something you aren’t.

I am currently in a place where I feel like I belong. I feel… right. I’m being true to myself, and that is such a big deal to me. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel accomplished. And you know what? I didn’t finish my unfinished projects. Not even half of them. And you know what else? I am A. O.K. with that. Because when I was talking with my sister the other day about her list of resolutions for 2012 I got to thinking… I accomplished A LOT in 2011. And for no reason other than it felt right. My heart told me to do something, and I LISTENED. For no one but myself, I would love to recap these accomplishments here. I’m hoping they might bring you some inspiration, because I want you to know, none of these things had a deadline. Not one of them was something I said to myself “I NEED to do this. And I need to do it in 2011.” These were just things that were important to me.

-February 2011: I joined Weight Watchers. By May 2011 I had lost 40 pounds.

-May 2011: I completed a 5K. I didn’t run the whole thing, but I didn’t walk the whole thing either. What mattered to me was that I finished.

-July 2011: my beautiful baby boy turned one. And exactly one week before his birthday I quit smoking. For him and for me. At the time of this post it has been five and a half months since I had a cigarette. And I feel amazing. This was also the month that my beautiful baby boy was admitted to the hospital for 3 days over a serious and unexplained virus. I held him down for a spinal tap. Me and three doctors. It’s true that you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

-August 2011: I went to California with my mom, dad, brother, sister, husband, and [very recently discharged from the hospital] son. My hubby and my baby got to see the beach and meet my [extended] family for the first time. I learned that I could enjoy and find peace in an overwhelmingly uncomfortable situation. (I hate to travel. But I did it. And I didn’t lose anything or anyone. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT!!) That month I also turned 26. This age is beautiful.

-October 2011: I made the leap to leave my job and be a true stay at home/work at home mom. I think I enjoy Sesame Street more than I should.

-November 2011: I posted my first original piece to Etsy.com. Within one week I had made my first sale and I have made 5 more since then. Etsy is a safe place for me. A place where I feel appreciated when I live in a community that doesn’t seem to have much of an appreciation for the arts. It’s my happy place.

-December 2011: I joined the beautiful Scentsy family as a consultant and began producing some extra income for my family. I truly love the product and I have felt so important to the gals around me.

All of that being said…. I still don’t have a resolution this year. And maybe I will resolve not to. I don’t want the motivation and energy I’ve gained in 2011 to redirect. I love the direction I’m headed. So I’m going to roll 2011 right into 2012. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Thanks for stopping by! As you can see, I’m just getting started here, but I wanted to give you a bit of an “intro” into my world.

My name is Kylee and I am a little bit of everything.

My most important (and favorite) job is being a mommy. I have the very best little boy in the world (I’m only slightly biased!) and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with him. Bubbie is a year and a half old and he is the joy of my life.

My next most important job (okay, it’s probably tied with the first :)) is being a wife. My hubby is crazy smart and super sweet. He is undoubtedly the man God made just for me.

I love pretty things, and crafty is kind of my passion. I think the best projects are the ones that cost very little and reuse or repurpose other items. In order to stay home with my little Bubbie, I sell a few of my creations on Etsy. It is such a great community and I am so honored to get to play with these fantastic people!

I am also a Scentsy girl! If you don’t know Scentsy, please check out my website over here!

I have all sorts of silly quirks (as you will see) and I am very new to the blogging world. I have great aspirations, though, as I have been snooping on some other very talented ladies’ blogs for some time now. I do hope that you will visit often and let me know what you think. I’ve been wandering for a while now, looking for my “career,” and I recently decided that not everyone has to have just one job, and that work doesn’t have to be boring… so I’m doing what I love (ALL of the things I love!) and hoping to make a bit of a living while I’m at it. Thanks for joining me!!